Music for the Muse

One of the best things about the internet is that it makes the world smaller. Thanks to Amazon and AmazonFresh I don’t have to leave my house for books or food.  Both get delivered right to my doorstep now. I can buy my music online as well, whether through iTunes or CDs from B&N.com or Amazon. I can talk to my friends and readers through email, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and my blog.

And I get to meet new people, interesting people, people who broaden my horizons.  One of those people I’m really glad to have ‘met’ via the net, is Jonathan Kochmer, owner of Sarathan Records, an indie label here in Seattle. Jonathan read my blog, Chasing Pavements, and noted that I wanted to order UK singer Adele’s ’19’ Album to write to, and so he emailed me to congratulate me on my success and send me a few suggestions of artists on his label that I might enjoy.

It took me a day to check them out as I’ve been doing 2-3 hour blocks of radio interviews every day this week while writing fast and furious on my new book, but tonight I did get to check the artists out and wow. Loved them. Jonathan nailed my tastes immediately and I’ve already ordered 3 albums from Amazon, paying a rush delivery so I can have them here by Friday.

Since lots of writers lurk here I thought I’d share some of Jonathan’s suggestions in case there is another writer or artist out there looking for inspiration, or writing to coax a reluctant muse into action. His suggestions for me were:

Peter Bradley Adams (calming)

Two Loons for Tea (transporting)

Abra Moore (romantic)

Lisbeth Scott (spiritual)

After listening to them all, Two Loons for Tea was my favorite, hands down, as it reminded me a bit of Kate Bush, which ranks right at the top of my favorite artists to play while I write. (Something I didn’t know until I’d listened to a number of their most current album’s tracks was that Jonathan is actually a member of the group, but each was good and quite different from the other.)

If you get time, check out the artists above and let me know what you think, or if you have a fav.  When I’m doing long hours at the keyboard, music is about the only thing that gets me through.